ACR Select Extended to Cover Pediatric Imaging Indications and Exams

National Decision Support Company product now offers pediatric imaging appropriate use criteria

May 17, 2017 — Through the support of the American College of Radiology and the contribution of leading experts from the Society for Pediatric Radiology, National Decision Support Company (NDSC) customers can now access a greatly expanded range of Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) covering pediatric imaging.

The Pediatric AUC are the result of a direct collaboration between the SPR and the American College of Radiology (ACR) to develop new pediatric criteria for delivery through NDSC's ACR Select. Volunteers from leading pediatric institutions nationwide collaborated with members of the ACR's decision support team to develop the criteria.

A team of over 30 SPR experts reviewed each ACR Select topic to incorporate age- and gender-specific pediatric indications. Led by Marta Hernanz-Shulman, M.D., FAAP, FACR, with guidance from Mike Bettmann, M.D., FACR, chair of the ACR's Rapid Response Team, the experts developed AUC that cover 374 pediatric-specific indications and 376 exams that cover 2,912 clinical end points for pediatric imaging.

"With the contributions of the pediatric radiology experts working with Dr. Hernanz-Schulman, we have gone from a limited set of a little over 100 indications to a vastly expanded set of nearly 400 indications for the pediatric population," said Bettmann. "That is not everything, but we have made a giant step in guiding the use of imaging in children and that is why I am excited. This simply has not existed for children before."

"Children are more sensitive to radiation and they will live longer and therefore have a chance to have more studies, so you don't want to radiate unnecessarily," said Hernanz-Schulman, medical director, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. "Selecting the best imaging test can be a complex process, particularly in pediatrics. We have responsibility to support physicians in making the best decisions."

The SPR AUC consider patient age and ionizing radiation exposure in the guidance to ensure pediatric patients do not receive unnecessary ionizing radiation. The pediatric age range varies on different topics where alternative recommendations are made. When delivered through CareSelect Imaging, these new indications now address the clinical setting as well as patient age and gender, so that the system displays the relevant guidance for the patient.

CareSelect Imaging currently contains AUC sets from multiple Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA)-qualified provider led entities including the American College of Radiology (ACR Select), the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the American College of Cardiology and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

The Pediatric AUC will be delivered with all future ACR Select content versions at no additional fee.